Staples pilot student creates LED home decor product
WESTPORT — As a student pilot, Aiden Schachter spends his time in the clouds.
When the Staples High School junior is not doing that, he’s focusing on his school work, wrestling and participating in clubs. And since 2020, he’s also spent his time focusing on his business, which ironically also has a focus on clouds.
Schachter created LEDCloudLight during the pandemic, when he was an eighth grader at Bedford Middle School.
He described it as a “high-tech room decor product that replicates a cloud.”
Schachter made his first sale of the light on July 22, 2020. He currently sells through his Etsy stop, ledcloudlight.com.
On Nov. 5 and 6, Schachter will participate in Craft Westport, which is the longest-running craft show of its kind in Connecticut. It will he his first time selling in person.
The show is run by Artrider Productions. They told Seth Schachter, Aiden’s father, that his son is the youngest exhibitor in the more than 13 years they have been managing the show, and likely the youngest exhibitor in the 45 years the show has run.
“I think it’s going to be an exciting, new experience, just like other things have been with my business,” Aiden Schachter said.
Since 2020, the cloud-like appearance of the light has been made with a poly fill, which is a polyester blend. Originally made with a low-strength hot glue, Schachter said the product was not well made and could only be controlled by a remote.
“My original clouds were messy,” he said.
However, since 2021, his clouds are more durable, with stronger materials, such as a spray adhesive. Coming in multiple sizes with various features such as Bluetooth, Amazon Alexa and Google Home capabilities, his current design is far from the original.
In 2020, Schachter said it was a trend to have LED light strips lining the perimeters of bedrooms. He had some, too.
“I had this old, stuffed penguin and the stuffing inside is what I used to make the original cloud idea,” he said.
He said was unsure what gave him that idea, to combine the LED strip lights with the stuffing.
“I’m not 100 percent sure how that idea popped into my mind. But it just did and I took it from there,” he said.
Schachter said the first few attempts did not go well.
“As time went on, I really mastered making them and producing them in an efficient way,” he said.
Schachter said reviews on his website started between two to four stars, but in 2022, it has been all five stars.
“You can kind of see the progress from arts and crafts hobby project to a fined-tuned product,” he said.
Schachter said the most interesting part is the frame of the clouds, which is made of recycled aluminum from the Westport community, which he implemented in 2021. He finds these materials through the Nextdoor app, which connects people in the area.
He said he posted about collecting recycling from neighbors for free, or paying the deposit on it. Since then, he said plenty of people responded.
Schachter makes every cloud light by himself, from scratch. So far this year, he’s filled 409 orders. In 2021, he had 210 orders.
“It’s just a lot of balancing time,” he said. “I try and get my school work done before I leave school. I come home, I work and then I go to my other extracurricular activities.”
Clouds start at $59 and range in sizes and features, up to $299.
Seth Schachter said Aiden Schachter has sold the LED cloud lights to every state in the U.S. and outside of the country.
“I’ve done two storefronts before, and I’ve done people’s bedrooms,” he said about the different cloud options.
“I think everything has
just been growing, slowly, and all of the hard work has been paying off,” Schachter said.
Schachter said that there have been some obstacles since he started, such as time limitations, especially as the holiday season nears.
Last December, he made 113 orders in one month. He also wrestles during the winter, which causes more time limitations.
This past week, Schachter was approved to sell on Amazon, which he said he tried to do for about a year. Since he is under 18, it was difficult to get approved as a seller.
“I think that’s a really exciting next step,” he said. “It’s a step to professionalism, to growth and even
worldwide.”
Outside of Etsy, Schachter also runs TikTok, Instagram and Pinterest accounts for the business.
Five percent of all of Schachter’s yearly profits are donated to charity. Last year, he donated $1,500 to offset carbon emissions and fight against climate change. He said he has always been a “green person” and tried to do well with the environment.
“Selling clouds ties in with the environment, some way,” he said. “I thought it was a good tie in.”
“We just couldn’t be more proud of him, as parents,” Seth Schachter said. “We try to continue keep him grounded and understand that this is a
unique opportunity, as far as the business.”
This year, Aiden Schachter said he expects the charity donations to be much greater, since his revenue doubled. He is going to donate to a local charity, though he hasn’t decided which yet.
Schachter said he hopes to take on some help in the future to expand the business. He still dreams of being an airline pilot, but would also like to run a business on the side.
“My business, itself, is one of my passions,” he said. “It’s always challenging myself to do better, to be more efficient, to grow in new ways.”